A Plane Called 'RUDDER'
by SLLS
Summary: Set at the end of the film; Rafe's new project interests a young Danny and ends with the flight of a lifetime.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters so please don't sue…**

**Author's Note: This is my 1st PH fic, so please be gentle lol and feel free to review please! I hope you like! **

**A Plane Called 'RUDDER'**

The sun was warm on their faces and Rafe scratched at the stubble clinging to his jaw line, feeling the grease on his fingertips smear on his skin. Tutting, he lay down his wrench and picked a hanky out of his pocket, taking care to wipe the grease off and not smear it further. "Damn planes…" He grumbled, tossing the used rag on the floor and continuing his work. "More mess than they're worth…"

"You know you don't mean that." Evelyn stood in the barn doorway, her arms folded and a smile on her face. Behind her legs a small round face peeked out, the eyes curiously surveying the rusting mess in front of Rafe. Bending down, Evelyn picked up her son and held him tight. She pointed at the object of his desire and pronounced slowly, "Airplane, Danny… that's an airplane."

"Was…" Muttered Rafe as he stood up, dusting down his trousers and making his way to his family. "Needs a hell of a lot of work done to it." He took Danny from his mother's arms and moved towards the plane, watching as the boy's eyes grew wider the closer they got. Settling him down on the floor beneath it, Rafe sat beside him and stroked the fine blonde hair on the child's head, "You wanna play too?"

Evelyn came over too, crouching down beside her husband and resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Rafe grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss before placing back on his shoulder. He could tell what she was thinking, same as she could with him. Little Danny was the spitting image of his father and although every moment they spent with him brought them closer to their lost friend and love, they still felt a pang of pain at what could have been; Rafe more than anyone.

"…_Danny taught me how to live…" _This wasn't his place and he knew it. Danny should be sitting here, holding his son in his arms, feeling the warmth of Evelyn's hand on his shoulder. Rafe could see that picture so clearly as if a memory, but he felt his heart ache that it was his fault that it would never be.

He played the last moments over and over again in his mind, how Danny had ran in front of the bullets that were destined for Rafe, and how he had lay in his best friend's arms, breathing short and skin cold, knowing that he was going to die. Rafe had come to believe that in those final seconds, Danny had done what he did to right the wrongs that Rafe felt he had made with Evelyn.

"Rudder…" Evelyn's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Is spelt with two D's." Rafe looked at what he'd chalked onto the side of the plane, a memory of his childhood beside Danny. As he went to correct the spelling, he looked down at little Danny, who held a piece of chalk firmly in his chubby fingers, his arm wavering as it stretched up. He began to squeak with the effort until Rafe picked him up, holding him up the plane. Evelyn reached over and held her son's hand firmly in hers, both writing a D where it belonged. "There we go…"

Rafe smiled, feeling his eyes begin to water. He sniffed loudly and picked up the hanky again, wiping his face to hide his expression. When Evelyn gave him an inquisitive look, he replied, "Chalk dust, got into my eye." She knew not to question him further and offered a gentle kiss on his cheek, before picking up Danny.

"Airplane!" Danny cried out from his mother's arms and he began to cry, his arms stretched out the rusting heap that sit in front of Rafe. "Airplane!" Evelyn gasped in surprise at her son's outburst, although part of her was not at all surprised at his first word, she expected it what with his father's blood and Rafe's influence.

"You wanna come be my co-pilot for a while? Danny?" Rafe stroked the child's soft face and the wails stopped, replaced by sniffles. "Huh? Would you like that?" A beaming smile dressed Rafe's face and he took Danny from Evelyn, laughing at her expression. "Boy's gotta learn someday."

"Promise me you won't take him out too high in it…" Evelyn asked, her voice wavering slightly. "It doesn't even look finished!"

Moving closer to his wife, he kissed her lips slowly, "I promise I'll protect him." She knew how much he meant those words, and smiled at him, giving a small kiss to Danny.

"I know."

…

As the plane swept carelessly through the air, Rafe felt the cool breeze on his face, stealing a glance at young Danny in his arms. His eyes were wide and his mouth open in awe at the passing clouds. Rafe took the plane lower, banking it to the right gently so as not to scare his co-pilot. Smiling at the waving figure on the ground, Rafe waved momentarily at his wife before holding his son tighter to him, surprised at how relaxed the boy felt in his arms.

"You're a natural at this you know that?" He said as he lowered the plane towards the stretch of dust and dirt in front of them. "When I was a few years older than you, me and your dad used to practice in an old derelict plane, then once, we snuck into his father's and tried to fly that…" Rafe began the story, a smile on his face at the memory of two young boys playing, and a plane now named RUDDER.


End file.
